Greenland Rubies

Indylady · Mar 6, 2023

Does anyone have experience with Greenland rubies? I just bought a pair and they are incredible. I am not sure if they have flouro - I’ll need to test that out later today and report back, but these rubies are seriously some of the reddest reds I’ve ever seen. They are all heated and ethically mined (though I haven’t done a deep dive into what this means, it seems legitimate).

maru8888777 · Mar 6, 2023

Very interested in whether they have fluoro!!

Avondale · Mar 6, 2023

There's an old thread that I remember, I'm linking it here. Unfortunately I don't have any further knowledge to contribute.

What is the deal with Greenland rubies?

Hi all, I recently subscribed to the official Greenland Ruby newsletter and have browed through their (trade only) inventory of rubies. First impressions: most stones are pinkish red and virtually all stones are moderately to heavily included. I would almost consider all of their facet stones...

www.pricescope.com

voce · Mar 6, 2023

Tucson Treasures 2023: Catch Them if you Can…

This year I went to Tucson with very low expectations, and a correspondingly low budget. As I’ve previously reported, supply is lagging behind demand, in particular for the popular gems such as blue sapphire, so I wondered what else I could discover…Well, I found enough to blow my low spending...

www.cecileraleydesigns.com

Yvonne talks 1 paragraph about Greenland Ruby right here. All of their stones are treated with high heat, not for untreated purists, and most are moderately to heavily included, so nothing approaching top ruby.

Indylady · Mar 6, 2023

voce said:
Tucson Treasures 2023: Catch Them if you Can…

This year I went to Tucson with very low expectations, and a correspondingly low budget. As I’ve previously reported, supply is lagging behind demand, in particular for the popular gems such as blue sapphire, so I wondered what else I could discover…Well, I found enough to blow my low spending...

www.cecileraleydesigns.com

Yvonne talks 1 paragraph about Greenland Ruby right here. All of their stones are treated with high heat, not for untreated purists, and most are moderately to heavily included, so nothing approaching top ruby.

I bought mine from Yvonne! Interesting comment on the high heat. Is the ‘high heat’ the same as beryllium diffusion?

shelovesinclusions · Mar 6, 2023

Indylady said:
I bought mine from Yvonne! Interesting comment on the high heat. Is the ‘high heat’ the same as beryllium diffusion?

No. Beryllium treatment requires high heat, but not all high heat includes beryllium.

VividRed · Mar 6, 2023

I would love to see one unheated, eye clean, vivid red Greenland ruby. Haven’t had any luck

Avondale · Mar 6, 2023

Indylady said:
I bought mine from Yvonne! Interesting comment on the high heat. Is the ‘high heat’ the same as beryllium diffusion?

No. As @shelovesinclusions already said, beryllium does require high heat, but it’s not the only high heat treatment. Actually in this case I suspect Yvonne was hinting at flux healing.

“The material is 100% high heat, otherwise it’s not usable, so if you are a treatment purist this is not for you. But the treatment is stable and permanent.”

We know that Greenland rubies are overall heavily fractured. The thing that turns heavily fractured unusable rough into stable crystal that can be faceted is flux healing, which is achieved by using high heat and borax.

If I’m correct in my assumption, those stones were not only heated, but heated with varying levels of residues. Definitely not for the purists.

Indylady · Mar 6, 2023

Woooooow. Thanks @Avondale, what a bummer! I’m fine with heat generally, but not as interested in flux heated rubies. I’m glad I didn’t get another one. I do like that these are ethically mined, but that seems to be the main thing going for it. Here are pics of my pair of Greenland rubies next to a small Burmese ruby. IRL - The Burmese looks a teeny tiny bit purple while the Greenland look rubies look super red. The Greenland Ruby also has a sharper sparkle, but I think that’s because they are better cut stones.

pearlsngems · Mar 6, 2023

From their website:

http://www.greenlandruby.gl/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/GR_Treatment_23.pdf

Treatment of Greenlandic Rubies and Pink Sapphires

Like most rubies and sapphires, Greenland Ruby gems undergo treatment to bring out their best attributes and create a stable environment, making them safe to cut, polish and set into jewelry. Heat treatment with borax as a flux is done in Thailand, the world’s capital of ruby trade and expertise, where gemstone treatments have been perfected over generations.

Flux heat treatment for rubies has been a standard industry process for the past 30 years. It is with this treatment that Greenland Ruby can responsibly bring our rubies and pink sapphires to market, in quantitative supply.

Borax is a natural mineral that has been used by jewelers since the Middle Ages to protect gold and gems (like diamonds) from oxidation during the welding process. In the early 1990’s a jeweler from Chanthaburi in Thailand found that borax also has an interesting healing property with rubies acting as a flux, and it could be used to repair broken stones and/or heal their fractures. Since then, these healing techniques have been widely used with rubies from Mong Hsu in Myanmar (Burma) and those from other hard-rock deposits in Vietnam, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Kenya, Tanzania, and more recently, Mozambique.

Rubies and pink sapphires from Greenland are the oldest rubies on earth. They were formed nearly 3 billion years ago and have since then, experienced substantial geological occurrences. The tiny fractures commonly found within these ancient gems tell the story of their heritage and incredible journey through time, heat and pressure and react perfectly to heat treatment, bringing out their true beauty and exponentially increasing the potential within each and every gem.

Heat treatment using borax as flux is a healing process. While being heated at temperatures upwards of 1600 degrees, borax liquid permeates the tiny fractures and partially dissolves their surface. During the cooling time, the alumina present in the borax will precipitate and re- crystalize. The fractures will be healed enabling the stone to be safely cut, polished, and set into jewelry without the risk of chipping or breaking. If glassy residues are trapped in the process, it will require removal with acid after the gems are cut and polished. Please note that lead glass is not used.

Avondale · Mar 6, 2023

Now that's what I call sweet-talking it. :lol:

One can't deny they're upfront and honest about it, though.

The thing is, if you look at things from a different perspective, there's an undeniable coolness factor to owning one of the oldest rubies on the planet. These deposits are 2,5-3 billion years old! The solar system itself formed some 4,5 billion years ago. The rubies that come from Asia and Africa are babies compared to that - only tens of millions of years old. Just a fraction of the time Greenland rubies have existed.

I find that fascinating. And if the only way to have a pretty faceted geriatric ruby is by cooking it with borax - oh well. Sacrifices must be made. It's still one super-duper old ruby.

@Indylady The pair you have is beauuuutiful! I hope you enjoy them, they're such joyous bright little dots of colour!

pearlsngems · Mar 6, 2023

I failed to include the 2nd page in my quote about treatments from the website:

This treatment will also enhance a gem’s transparency and overall color: minute particles are dissolved and the overall purplish or bluish color, commonly found in high iron rubies, is removed. As a result, the gem is then brighter and displays a purer pink to red color.

Note: Greenland Ruby follows CIBJO Blue Book 2022 nomenclature standards. As such, the code for heat treatment with borax flux is FAH (heated in flux). https://www.cibjo.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/22-12-22-Official-Gemstone-Book.pdf

Autumn in New England · Mar 6, 2023

I'm not all that familiar with Greenland rubies, so this has been fascinating! They sure would make pretty little studs, OP.

pearlsngems · Mar 6, 2023

I like the hot pink cabs.

JackTrick · Mar 7, 2023

I picked up some greenland ruby melee, and they’re absolutely delicious.

No fluorescence though, as I’m lead to understand a lot of greenland rubies have heavy iron content, which quenches fluor.

jordyonbass · Mar 7, 2023

I wish Vincent Pardieu still posted here, he has been working with the mining company extracting these in Greenland and would have some amazing insight into them

Indylady · May 20, 2023

Ok - I wanted to update my thread with an interesting observation – my particular Greenland Rubies, well very well cut, do NOT have florescence. Below is a pic of my Burma rubies. I have a ruby of unknown origin in the lot - it’s the three stone ring right next to oval flouro heavy ruby - and it barely has any flouro. I suspect it may be from Greenland too because it has a fab red color and amazing cut.